Before Corus- Alanna's Tale
by AtMyWhit'sEnd
Summary: Did you ever wonder what Alanna's life was like before she went to Corus? Well, this is how I think that it was. It is Alanna/George. Enjoy....
1. Just Wondering

Disclaimer: All of the characters in this chapter belong to Tamora Pierce, not me, yada, yada….Anyway, if you don't remember it from the series, then it belongs, somewhat, to me…..  
  
A/N: Okay, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember ever reading a story about Alanna's life before she went to Corus. Throughout the Song of the Lioness series, we get hints about what her life was like when she was younger, but we really don't know that much about her back then. So, I'm going to write what I think her life was like before she went to Corus to become a Knight of Tortall. Enjoy….  
  
"You never really told me what your life was like before you came to Corus. You hinted at things every once in a while, but you never really told me the whole story." George and Alanna were walking along the beach near their castle in Pirate's Swoop.  
  
Alanna reached down to pick up a shell. "Isn't this pretty. The inside of this shell kind of reflects the sunset. Let's go look for some more like it." She tried to pull her hand out of his grasp, but he held it tightly. " George, let me go. I don't want to talk about it now. Besides, you never told me about your life either. Let me go!" When he continued to hold it she threatened him. "Don't make me use my fighting skills on you."  
  
He laughed and held her wrist a little tighter. Alanna punched him lightly on the shoulder. " I mean it. I'll use Shang on you."  
  
"You really should practice the things that you aren't so good at. You know, like wrestling."  
  
"Why you little….."  
  
They began to wrestle and soon lay panting on the sand. " So you're still better at wrestling than I am. I could beat you in everything else any day." The Lady Knight then got up and shook the sand out of her shoes preparing to go back to their home. George came up behind her and picked her up. She laughed in his arms as he carried her to their castle.  
  
A few days later……..  
  
Alanna was riding in the Royal Forest on her horse, Moonlight. The green arbor made her feel peaceful, not something the King's Champion felt very often. She brooded on the trails until she heard the sounds of another horse and rider coming up behind her. She sighed and quickly got off the path, intending to let the other rider pass. When he passed, Alanna got back onto the path and continued to ride. A few minutes later, however, she heard another rider coming behind her. She moved to the side of the path again, but this time the rider stopped.  
  
" What are you doing all the way out here Lass?" George asked as Alanna trotted Moonlight next to George's mount.  
  
"Thinking," she said absently.  
  
"About….."  
  
"Nothing in particular. Being the King's Champion, all the stupid paperwork that Jon is making me sign, whether or not I want to go on another adventure, you, my childhood, things like that."  
  
"Hmmm. I hope that you've decided against going on another adventure right now. We've just gotten settled in at the Swoop." As she laughed he continued, "So what were you really thinking about?"  
  
"I just told you: my job, adventures, you…."  
  
"You were thinking about that comment I made to you the other night. The one that I made about you not having told me much about your past." Alanna blushed and nodded, thinking how uncanny it was that he knew exactly what she was thinking about. "Are you going to tell me about it or not? I won't force you to, because I know that you love to do the exact opposite of what someone wants you to do if you are forced to do something."  
  
"Why do you want to know this all of a sudden?" Alanna asked. "You never really seemed that interested in my history before. Why now?"  
  
"I dunno. I'd just like to know, if you'd like to tell me."  
  
"Okay, if you really want to hear about my life before Corus, I'll tell you about it on our ride home tonight. Right now, I have to get ready for that stupid ball that Jon's throwing tonight. Why does he always have one whenever I come down from the Swoop. I swear that he makes up the reasons half the time, just so that he can have a ball and tick me off. Oh well."  
  
"I'll be there with you," the Baron of Pirate's Swoop reminded her. "I don't think that they are that bad. Besides, its one of the few times that I actually get to see you in a dress." They turned their horses around and headed back to the castle, Alanna punching George for the comment about her and dresses.  
  
Alanna hadn't realized how far she had ridden out into the forest. It was almost dark before they got back to their rooms. She quickly got into her dress and put on some face paint. The dress was one that George loved, a lavender wool. As she gathered her hair into a bun, a knock sounded on the door.  
  
She traipsed over to the door in her slippers and opened it. There stood a page with a handful of flowers. "These are from the Baron of Pirate's Swoop. He requested that I give them to you right away."  
  
She handed him a silver noble and said, " Tell him I said thank you, and that I will see him in a few moments." She closed the door and finished putting up her hair. Grabbing the flowers, she went out of the room to find George.  
  
A/N: How was it? I know that it was kind of a rough beginning, but I promise that it will get better. Anyway, I hope that you liked it. I wonder what I should include in the next few chapters. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks for reading my fic….  
  
-Princess Salmalin 


	2. The Ball

Disclaimer: Have to do it now before I forget! I don't own any of the characters. They all belong to Tamora Pierce. Does anyone actually read the disclaimer?  
  
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Review– Alanna is trying to find George so that they can go to a ball that King Jon and Queen Thayet are throwing.  
  
Alanna opened the wooden door of her room and stepped out into the hallway. Her slippered feet made a slight tapping noise as she floated down the hallway. She clutched the flowers in her hand, wondering what she was going to do with them. I should have just left them in my room, she thought. Suddenly she was conscientious of everyone in the hallway staring at her. Picking up the hem of her dress, she twirled it around to see if there were any stains on it. There weren't, and she was left wondering why everyone was looking at her.  
  
What she didn't realize was that no one in the room had seen her in a dress before, a ball gown at that. When she had presented the Dominion Jewel to Jonathan, she had been wearing a formal tunic and breeches. She had also worn other tunics and breeches to the other balls that Jonathan had thrown since the Coronation Day. (and there had been many!) Seeing her in a lavender ball gown was a shock to most people in the room. With her hair up and a little face paint, the court had to admit that she was pretty, almost beautiful. As she moved down the hall, she could hear people whispering about her. "Is that Sir Alanna?" "I've never seen her that dressed up before." "She's actually very pretty, isn't she." Her cheeks became more and more flushed as she traipsed down the hall.  
  
"Looking for someone?" a voice breathed in her ear as an arm grabbed her elbow. He pulled her around to get her to face him. Alanna giggled as she turned to face her fiancé.  
  
"As a matter of fact I was. What took you so long? I was actually ready before you were." They both laughed and the Lady Knight reached for his hand as they made their way into the reception line for the ballroom.  
  
The line moved slowly toward the giant oaken doors. Everyone who entered had to have his or her titles read off, and that took quite a while. As they moved up to the entrance she asked him, "Do you know why everyone was staring at me when I came out of my room? It was really quite unnerving."  
  
Just then, however, they were at the head of the line.  
  
"Baron George Cooper of Pirate's Swoop and Sir Alanna of Trebond and Olau, King's Champion." Arm in arm they walked down the carpeted staircase to the king. When they reached the platform where the King and Queen were sitting, they both bowed. Alanna then curtsied, as befitted a Lady. Thayet gave a knowing wink as Jon tried to suppress a smile. The couple moved to the side of the ballroom and waited for the introductions to end.  
  
"You know, I don't think that I've seen you in a dress for quite a while. You look very becoming in it. I think that you should wear them more often," George whispered to her. Alanna blushed from the compliment as she pretended to listen to who was entering the room. "I think that I've figured out why everyone was staring at you in the hallway. No one at court has ever seen you in a dress before. Only Jon, Thayet, and me. It must be quite an interesting sight to them."  
  
Just then Alanna realized that she was still holding onto the flowers. " George," she whispered, "I forgot to thank you for the wonderful flowers. Why ever did you get them for me."  
  
"I just wanted you to have something special for this evening. I know how much you dread going to these lovely social events."  
  
(A/N: I really wanted to have Alanna punch George here, but it is not proper etiquette at a ball, and someone told me that I was punching George too much, so I decided not to!) Back to the story…….  
  
By then the music had started and couples were moving to the dance floor. George led Alanna out on his arm to the center of the floor. They danced waltz after waltz, seemingly effortlessly. Little did the court know that George had been teaching her for months how to dance. He was tired of his toes being black and blue the next morning after a ball. "One two three, turn one two three, step one two three," Alanna whispered under her breath. "One two three, turn one…."  
  
All too soon for most, (but not soon enough for Alanna), the ball ended. People made their way back to their rooms, and Alanna followed George. When they reached his door, they kissed each other good-night. "Must you go?" George asked.  
  
"Yes, or else everyone in the castle will know by tomorrow morning. We agreed not to tell anyone until next month, remember."  
  
"Fine, I guess I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning. We are heading back down to Pirate's Swoop tomorrow, aren't we?"  
  
"Of course we are. I don't think that I could spend another minute at court. It is so incredibly boring," the Lady Knight replied.  
  
"Good night, then."  
  
"Good night."  
  
About an hour later……….  
  
Alanna lay tossing and turning in her bed, unable to sleep. It was around three o'clock, and she was thinking three o'clock thoughts.  
  
(A/N: You know what I mean: when you wake up at 3 in the morning and can't fall back asleep because you realize that you totally need to do something the next morning that is really important that you forgot the day before or u can't fall asleep because you are afraid of something in your room, such as snakes. Totally irrational, but hey, it's 3 o'clock in the morning!)  
  
After sitting on her bed for about fifteen minutes, unable to think about anything but the big huge hairy spider she thought was hiding in the corner of her room, she decided to go and talk with George.  
  
Not turning on the lights, and careful to avoid the corner, Alanna dressed in another lavender dress that George liked. She debated for a few moments whether or not she should bring one of her knives tucked in her dress, then decided to bring it. Picking up her slippers, she headed for the door. Once she entered her hallway, she decided not to wear the slippers because the click of the heels would probably wake someone up. She did not want to try to explain to someone what she was doing at 3 o'clock in the morning in the hallways of the castle. Tip-toeing to his door, she raised her hand to knock. A slip of paper tucked in between the hinges of the door caught her eye. She tugged at it, trying to pull it out without ripping it. It read:  
  
Dearest Alanna-  
  
For some reason I can't sleep tonight. You probably can't either. If you get this note, go down to the Dancing Dove, 'cause that's where I'll be. Be sure that you bring some kind of weaponry. I don't know how these rouges behave now that I am gone.  
  
With Love,  
  
George  
  
Alanna walked down to the Dancing Dove with out too much of a problem. One rouge tried to pickpocket her, but she used the Thieves Sign George taught her and he left her alone.  
  
When she got there, she saw George sitting down at a table with two others in hooded travel cloaks. They turned to face her as she came in.  
  
"Coram! Rispah! What are you doing here?" she cried.  
  
"Life was a getting a little boring out in the desert, so we decided to come visit you here," Coram told her. "What are you doing down here at three o'clock in the morning? That's not good hours for a knight to keep."  
  
"Couldn't sleep. It's a good thing that you're here. George wanted to know about my childhood, and I think that you could probably tell about my early childhood more accurately than I could. Do you mind telling it?"  
  
"Not at all, as long as a get a pint of ale and a good nap before I tell it."  
  
"Great, I think that we can all benefit from a little sleep."  
  
George talked to the new King of the Rouges and got a place for Coram and Rispah to stay. Then he walked with Alanna back to the castle as the first rays of sunrise began to appear.  
  
A/N: This seems like a good place to stop. I promise that the next chapter will actually begin her childhood. I promise over a stack of TP books that I will start with her childhood next chapter. Anyway, I got to write a chapter about Alanna at a ball. I love reading the stories with her going to a ball in them, so I decided to write one of my own. Should I make George more a part of the story, less a part of the story, or leave it as it is? I hope that you liked it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far! 


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